


Part of Your World

by hazelNuts



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Mentioned Boyd/Erica, Mentioned Braeden/Derek, Multi, POV Isaac, Polyamory, Selkie Isaac, mentioned allison/lydia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-25
Updated: 2017-02-25
Packaged: 2018-09-26 22:00:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9923885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hazelNuts/pseuds/hazelNuts
Summary: Isaac is a selkie. When Stiles accidentally calls him up with his tears, he doesn't expect Scott and Stiles to ask him to stay for a while. He certainly doesn't expect to become such a big part of their life.Seven tears into the ocean to call a male selkie, seven tears from an unhappy wife. That’s what the legends say. All legends have a bit of truth in them. This one is mostly true, the only part that isn’t, is that the tears need to be from an unhappy wife. You don’t have to be a woman, or even married, for it to work. Just crying and be attracted to men.





	

**Author's Note:**

> If you think I forgot any tags, please let me know in the comments.

Seven tears into the ocean to call a male selkie, seven tears from an unhappy wife. That’s what the legends say. All legends have a bit of truth in them. This one is mostly true, the only part that isn’t, is that the tears need to be from an unhappy _wife_. You don’t have to be a woman, or even married, for it to work. Just crying and be attracted to men.

Isaac’s not sure why that part never made it into the legends, they usually leave in the juiciest bits. Whatever the reason, it’s stupid and annoying, because it means that the guy sitting in the sand probably called him by accident. It wouldn’t be the first time.

He’s beautiful, with skin pale as moonlight and beauty marks dotting his cheeks like stars.

Isaac sheds his selkie skin and folds it up carefully. Holding it close to his chest, he approaches the man, but stops short when he catches sight of another man walking down the beach, making for the man sitting by the water. If the crying man reminded Isaac of the night, this second man reminds him of a warm sunny day. His skin is a warm bronze, and the way the first man looks up at him, it’s like the sun finally appears from behind the clouds.

The two men sit together on the sand, looking out over the ocean, letting the waves touch their toes. They’re sitting shoulder to shoulder, and after talking quietly for a moment the second man wraps an arm around the first man’s shoulder and pulls him into his side.

Isaac starts unfolding his skin. He isn’t wanted or needed here.

‘Who’s there?’ It’s the second man and he’s looking directly at Isaac.

Isaac freezes in surprise. He’s standing behind a large rock and the night is in no way clear enough for the man to have seen him from where he’s sitting.

He considers slipping into his skin and diving back into the ocean without responding. Maybe it’s the pull to the first man, the one whose tears called him here. Maybe it’s the challenging tone behind the second man’s words. Or perhaps it’s a combination of both that makes Isaac step out of his hiding place.

The second man places himself between Isaac and the first man. The first man doesn’t seem very concerned though, because he leans back and looks around the second man’s legs.

‘Dude! He’s naked!’

‘I can see that, Stiles,’ the second man hisses. His eyes flash bright yellow. ‘What are you? What do you want?’

 _Werewolf_ , Isaac’s mind supplies. He lays his skin on the sand so it won’t get damaged if it comes to a fight. He keeps his hands by his side and visible, trying to remember what humans consider a casual pose. He forgot how much work controlling four limbs at the same time is.

Stiles stares at him openly, while his partner appears to be trying very hard not to.

‘He called me,’ Isaac says, nodding at Stiles.

‘What? No, Scott, I did not call him. The only guy I would ever call and want to show up naked is you, I swear,’ Stiles says, scrambling up and flailing when Scott throws him a confused look.

‘Your tears,’ Isaac sighs. God, he really hopes these guys know a little about ocean mythology, or he’s going to have to explain that he was called here by Stiles’ tears to fuck him back to happiness.

Stiles’ face is blank, then his eyes catch the skin lying behind Isaac, his eyes drift to the open ocean. ‘He’s a selkie,’ Stiles squeaks. He grips Scott’s arm so hard in his excitement, that Scott quickly pulls it out of his grip, rubbing at the sore spot. ‘Oh my god, I thought they were just myths. You!’ Stiles looks directly at Isaac, his eyes wide with wonder. ‘I thought you were a myth. Or only existed in Scotland. Holy shit!’

‘Can one of you tell me what’s going on?’ Scott interjects, his eyebrows contracted in a confused frown.

‘So, there is a legend that says if someone cries seven tears into the sea, a male selkie will come to them. Often, these people were unhappy and lonely, probably why they were crying, and the selkie was supposed to make them happy again,’ Stiles explains.

‘Usually with sex,’ Isaac adds.

‘Uhm… Ha… Yes, usually, yeah,’ Stiles fumbles, glancing at Scott.

‘You’re not unhappy are you?’ Scott asks, turning to Stiles. His confused frown has turned to wide-eyed worry.

‘I was just sad because of my mom,’ Stiles assures him. He slides his hand into Scott’s and tangles their fingers, then presses a kiss to Scott’s cheek, whose face immediately brightens.

Isaac doesn’t need to hear more.

‘It’s obvious that I’m not needed here,’ he says. He’s happy for the two men, but he’s also a little sad. It’s been a while since he’s been on land. He turns around to grab his skin and make his way back to the ocean.

‘You can stay for a while. If you want. I mean, you came all the way,’ Scott says.

‘That would be awesome,’ Stiles agrees. ‘Do you mind if I ask you a couple questions?’

Isaac blinks at the two men in surprise. The lovers of the people who call him have always been violently opposed to him being there. Emphasis on _violent_.

‘Okay. Thank you.’ He grabs his skin and slowly approaches the two men. He holds the skin out to them. ‘Will you keep this safe for me while I’m here?’

Both Scott and Stiles stare at the dark grey, leathery material, though only Stiles seems to understand the significance of the question.

‘Sure,’ Scott says after a moment, and takes the skin from Isaac.

‘So that’s a real thing? The thing with the skin?’ Stiles asks. ‘Also, we should get you some pants,’ Stiles adds while gesturing up and down Isaac’s naked body, carefully not letting his eyes drift too far down.

They make their way up the beach side-by-side, Isaac in the middle, Stiles bombarding him with questions, and Scott holding the skin close to his chest.

~

In the ocean, Isaac never really noticed the passing of time. It’s not something that’s important to his kind. They’re part fae and practically immortal. They only age when on land and out of their selkie skins. And even after almost five years of being on land, feeling time pass by, watching his face change in the mirror, Isaac still isn’t used to it.

Time is like another kind of ocean, and he has to learn how to swim all over again. Sometimes, time moves at a leisurely speed, and it’s easy to let yourself drift along with the current. At other times there is almost no current, and he has to find something, someone, or someplace where the current picks up again. Or the currents of time move too fast, gripping him, pulling him past the good times faster than he wants to, but he never realizes until it’s too late. And then there are the times where he’s so bored out of his mind that time moves almost backwards, and he has to push himself to get through even the next ten minutes, like swimming against the current.

Staying with Scott and Stiles was a convenience at first. He had a place to stay, there was food, and people who explained everything that was new to him. He went shopping, ate food that didn’t grow or live in the ocean, spent days watching movies and tv shows, learning a little more about dry-land culture every day. He met the pack they belonged to, and was welcomed with open arms.

He hadn’t expected to be invited into Scott and Stiles’ life like this, and even less so to be invited into their bed and hearts.

Almost a year after he’d come on land, Isaac noticed Scott and Stiles behaving differently towards him. They were giving him odd looks, would sometimes stop talking when he walked into the room, and they were being nice. _Really_ nice, the kind of nice that you save up for when you’re going to say goodbye to someone.

Isaac expected to presented with his skin at any moment, they knew that was the way to get him out, but the moment didn’t come. The suspense left him feeling on edge, so finally, he asked. He’d wanted to know if he’d done something wrong, or if they simply wanted the house to themselves again. He thought they were doing pretty well, the three of them living together, but he could easily stay with Erica and Boyd, or try to find a place of his own.

Scott and Stiles had stumbled over each other and their words in their haste to reassure him that wasn’t the case at all. They’d been trying to figure out a way to ask him if he wanted to date them. Both of them. They weren’t sure if he felt the same, and hadn’t wanted to make things awkward or make he feel pressured. A couple weeks later, Isaac moved his few belongings into the master bedroom, where they’ve been ever since.

The day that Scott and Stiles told him they would like to date him, was also the day Isaac started looking for a job. After trying several things, he eventually became a swimming instructor—Stiles had laughed about it for hours. He doesn’t actually like the chlorine water of the pool, infinitely preferring the salt of the sea or even the sweetness of a lake, but he loves watching the grins on the children’s faces whenever they hold their breath a little longer or dare to float a little closer to the deep-end.

It’s been five years of almost blissful, unimaginable happiness, and he couldn’t understand why his kind always came back to the ocean. Why they would literally tear houses apart in search of their skin. Now he’s starting to.

It’s been a couple months since he felt that first little pang, a brief sadness that came out of nowhere and left before he could properly identify it. Over time, those pangs have grown into an almost constant longing for the ocean that Isaac doesn’t understand. He’s happy. He has Scott and Stiles, a job that he loves, friends. And it’s not like Scott and Stiles keep him away from the water, quite the opposite. They love going to the beach together, no matter the season. They’ll swim and surf, or sometimes just walk along the water’s edge, letting the waves roll over their feet.

It’s not really the same though. No matter how long he spends dancing with the waves, it’s never long enough. No matter how far Isaac swims out or how deep he goes, his human body can’t swim the way his seal body does. He has to wear goggles or the salt will burn his eyes. He can hold his breath for several minutes, but it’s not long enough. This body is not built for cutting through and under waves, and he has to make a conscious effort to be careful of currents that might sweep him out too far into the open sea.

He works hard to hide it, not wanting to make his partners think they’re doing something wrong. But as the months pass, Isaac finds himself staring into the direction of the ocean more and more often, even when there’s a wall in the way. Whenever there’s a quiet moment, he strains his ears to catch the sound of the waves hitting the shore.

He’s certain that neither Scott or Stiles knows about where his thoughts have been drifting lately, until Stiles asks him, ‘Do you want to go back?’

‘Back to where?’ He knows what Stiles means, but doesn’t want to say it out loud. It feels like it might rip him apart if he does.

‘Back to the ocean, to wherever selkies live,’ Stiles says.

Isaac trains his eyes on the window to avoid Scott and Stiles’ gazes. In the distance, he can see the light of the moon reflecting off the waves.

‘It’s okay if you do,’ Scott says. ‘We’ve always known this day would come.’

Isaac swallows and looks down at his hands. They’re quickly enveloped by Scott and Stiles’.

‘I love you,’ Isaac says, like it will make him long for the sea any less, like an apology because he doesn’t want his partners to feel like they’re not enough.

‘We know. We love you too,’ Scott says and pulls him into a hug.

Stiles’ presence disappears from Isaac’s side, but Isaac is too focused on the all-enveloping warmth of Scott’s hug to notice. He basks in the smell of sunshine that comes off Scott’s skin, even though it’s mid-November.

‘Isaac?’

Isaac turns to find Stiles standing behind him, a neatly folded grey cloth in his arms. No, not cloth.

‘You’re sending me away?’ Isaac asks. He jumps off the couch, and steps back, away from his skin, ignoring the way his heart pounds in longing.

‘We’re not sending you away,’ Stiles says, stepping closer and grabbing Isaac’s wrist. He squeezes it and looks Isaac in the eye. There are tears there, threatening to spill over, and Stiles’ voice sounds thick when he continues, ‘We want you to know that it’s okay if you want to go.’

‘You’ll always have a place here,’ Scott adds, his voice breaking.

‘Okay,’ Isaac manages to say after a moment. It doesn’t rip him apart, but it’s a close call. ‘Okay.’

‘Do you want go now?’

Isaac looks from Scott to Stiles, and thinks of spending another day or even another week with them, knowing that by the end of it he’ll leave. It would hurt so much. Too much. He feels guilty about not saying goodbye to the rest of the pack and abandoning his swimming class, but it doesn’t equal the longing.

So he nods.

Scott quickly wipes away the tears falling down his cheeks. Stiles clenches his jaw. Both of them give him a sad, but understanding, smile.

‘We’ll go grab our coats and shoes.’

Stiles reaches to give Isaac his skin back, but Isaac shakes his head. ‘Not yet.’

The walk to the beach is silent. They’re holding hands, with Isaac in the middle. There’s so much Isaac wants to say, but he can’t find the words. They get jumbled up before he can utter them. At the tideline, they stop. Isaac pulls his shirt and jeans off and hands them to Scott, then he turns to Stiles, who is hugging Isaac’s skin close to his chest.

‘I’ll miss you. I’m not going to ask you when you’re coming back. And, you don’t have to, but you can. If you want to,’ Stiles says.

Isaac kisses Stiles deeply, a kiss that Isaac will remember even in the timelessness of the ocean. When they part, Stiles pushes the skin into his arms. Isaac almost pushes it back when he sees the tears streaming down Stiles’ face.

‘I’ll miss you, too. So much,’ Isaac says, then turns to Scott.

‘We’ll explain everything to the others. They’ll understand. We understand,’ Scott whispers against Isaac’s lips. His nails dig into Isaac’s arms, just a little too sharp to be completely human.

‘Thank you.’

With his skin clutched in his hands, Isaac walks into the water. The cold waves hit his shins and he shivers, but he doesn’t stop. The wet sand sucks at his feet. Seashells stab at his toes. He turns around. In the light of the moon and the stars Scott and Stiles have merged into a single silhouette of a person with two heads.

He faces the open sea. With his eyes closed he slips on his skin and lets himself fall forward into the water.

~

He waits until the beach is deserted before stepping out of his skin and onto the sand. It’s chilly, cold enough to raise goose bumps, but not cold enough to make him shiver. The beach looks the same as the first time he came here. A lot of sand, dunes in the distance, and the faint glow of the lights of a parking lot to his left. The lights are a little different, they have a bluish glow now, instead of yellow.

Isaac steps out of the surf and starts making his way to the row of houses along the beach. He’s not too worried about being seen. It’s early autumn, and since most of these places are used as summer homes, the majority will be empty. There’s only one house he’s interested in, anyway.

The house comes into view. The downstairs lights are on. There’s someone home.

He stops in his tracks as momentary panic grips his heart. He has no idea how much times has passed. More than a year, certainly. But what if it’s more than five? Or ten? Or even a hundred?

Okay, that last one isn’t very likely since the houses probably wouldn’t still all be here if it was a hundred years. But what if he’s been gone long enough for Scott and Stiles to forget him? They could’ve moved, out of necessity or because they got tired of waiting for him. And if they’re still here, who says they want to see him?

Isaac looks back at the ocean. He doesn’t hear it beckoning, if anything it seems to push him forward, urging him to keep moving. So he does.

At the door, he stops again. He pushes his hair back from his face and takes a deep breath. Before he can raise his hand to knock, the door is pulled open and two bodies wrap themselves around him.

He can’t hug his partners back, since they’ve trapped his arms to his side, but he rubs his cheek against their hair as best he can.

‘I’m happy to see you, too,’ he laughs.

Scott and Stiles pull back and grin up at him. Isaac’s face falls. Scott looks mostly the same, a little more muscular and a different haircut. Werewolves age at almost half the speed humans do. The passing of time is more obvious in Stiles. He looks softer than before, his shoulders still broad, and Isaac knows there is some serious muscle underneath the sweater he’s wearing, but the sharpness of his twenties is gone.

‘How long was I gone?’ he asks.

Scott and Stiles glance at each other.

‘Almost twelve years,’ Stiles finally admits.

Isaac stumbles back in shock. _Twelve years_. He’s missed twelve years. He opens his mouth to apologize, but Scott clamps his hand over it to shut him up.

‘None of that,’ Stiles says.

‘No apologizing,’ Scott adds. He doesn’t remove his hand until Isaac nods.

‘So… Can I get some clothes?’ Isaac asks, not sure where else to start. He hands his selkie skin to Stiles who neatly folds it up and holds it to his chest like it’s something precious.

‘Of course,’ Scott says, grabbing Isaac’s hand. ‘You’re never going to believe who Lydia married.’

‘A hunter!’ Stiles provides before Isaac can even process the fact that _Lydia_ is _married_.

Scott nods excitedly. ‘Allison is pretty cool, though. Laura and Derek didn’t really like her at first, but then she shot this other hunter, who wanted to kidnap Derek’s baby, in the butt, and they figured she was alright.’

‘Derek has a baby?’

‘Dude! You’re going to love Braeden. She’s his girlfriend, not the baby. The baby isn’t really a baby anymore, actually. TJ turns six next January. Wait, is it six or seven?’

Isaac smiles. A warmth fills his chest as the quiet of his time in the ocean is replaced by Scott and Stiles’ excited voices. They all know that at some point he’ll go back to the sea again, but for now, this is his home.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on [tumblr](http://fandom-madnessess.tumblr.com/).


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